


A Sex Tape

by Tamasha



Series: The Parties of Our Lives [9]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anger, Angst, Blackmail, Brooding, D/s lifestyle, Dom/sub, Established Relationship, Gay, Internal Monologue, Love, M/M, Marriage, Modern Era, Okay Ending, Possessive Behavior, Possessive!Arthur, Relationship(s), Sex Tapes, Short, asleep!Merlin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2019-12-30 18:44:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18321059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tamasha/pseuds/Tamasha
Summary: Arthur lays in bed at night and broods over the events of the day - finding out that one of Merlin's exes has an old sex tape of them that he was supposed to delete years ago. He's upset, but ultimately no harm is done. That's it, no interaction between characters or anything.





	A Sex Tape

**Author's Note:**

> written by Natasha

Arthur stares up at the ceiling, face slack. He is supposed to be sleeping - Merlin is sleeping - but he can’t erase the image of another man fucking his husband. It’s not  _ his _ Merlin, really, it’s a younger version of him. Shorter, not as filled out, short hair. There is a overconfident air to him, false bravado, that Arthur hasn't seen in years. He is the boy that Arthur first met and quickly fell in love with, not the baby that sleeps quietly next to him. But it’s  _ Merlin _ , and there is some primal instinct in him that rears up with the thought of someone  _ else’s _ hands on his little baby.

Merlin has a sexual past, he knows that, obviously. Arthur has long since come to terms with the idea that Merlin did not come to him an innocent. Merlin had consensual and nonconsensual sex many times before he met Arthur, and they had worked through what they needed to. Things were okay now. Once they met, they started dating, and Merlin has been devoted and faithful ever since. Sex was his way of coping, especially back then, and it must have been difficult for him, at the beginning, to suddenly be limited. But he made every right choice, and Arthur is happy for that.

One night, long before they met, Merlin had made a sex tape with a boy he knew. It was a night of fun, excitement, and it had nothing to do with today. The sex tape itself is not the problem. But Jordan. This stranger now has a video of Arthur’s husband. Has had it for years, but now Arthur knows about it. Things have changed since then. Merlin isn’t a free-flying, adventurous kid anymore, and he chose to leave that past behind. He has a responsibility to Arthur, and he would never dream of showing anyone else his body. So why  _ should _ Jordan see it?

It was innocent at the time, but that was the past. Today, the sex tape is potential blackmail. It is sexual footage of a minor. And it is Merlin's property, which means it is Arthur's. Merlin has every right to keep that type of media private if he chooses. And Arthur, as his dom, chooses this for him. It should have been destroyed. Years ago, Jordan was supposed to do that, but somehow, the video is still here. And Jordan has access.

Only... this isn’t how it actually works, in real life. Arthur has grown used to who he is in his relationship with his husband, but that relationship is not recognized, not even appropriate, in general society. Merlin, and everything he possesses, belongs to Arthur. He chose to give his freedom to his king, but the law doesn't recognize that. So when it comes to the government or public scenarios, Arthur has to take a step back. He could get them in trouble. However much it irks him, Merlin does  _ not _ belong to him under UK law.

That shouldn't matter, really, because Merlin still defers to Arthur. He wants to be dominated; that is why their relationship works. This time, though, someone else is involved. It isn't just the two of them, and one thing Arthur can trust about his husband is that he will always show compassion for other people. Even people Arthur doesn't particularly like. So when he saw an opportunity to settle things quietly, Merlin decided to give Jordan the benefit of the doubt. Arthur can’t blame him for it; that sort of goodwill is in Merlin’s nature. Besides, there is no way to tell for certain. Maybe Jordan did what he said and deleted the video. Maybe Merlin was right to trust him.

Or maybe, he is at home right now, laptop open, watching a little boy - Arthur’s little boy - have sex. Arthur heaves a long sigh and then turns onto his side, wrapping a possessive arm around Merlin's sleeping form. He isn't angry with his baby. He knows exactly why things happened as they did. He is angry with the culture that condemns his lifestyle. He is angry with Jordan, for being so derisive when they approached him. He is angry with himself, for being angry.

In the end, he needs to let it go. It is over. There is nothing more he can do, and deleted or not, Arthur will never hear about this video again. Merlin is his, heart and soul. Body too. Even Arthur knows, if it was as simple as giving away footage of himself now, Merlin wouldn't do it. Though he doesn't have the sense of privacy Arthur does, he knows Arthur well and wants to make his king happy. He would happily devote his body to Arthur and never send anything out, if it were a choice he could make in the present.

Arthur breathes in the scent of Merlin's shampoo. This is enough. Merlin chooses him, and he has to let the rest go. The past should stay in the past.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, that was super short and you only got the story in little bits, so I hope it wasn't too random and hard to follow. Don't worry, this Jordan guy doesn't do anything terrible, and Merlin and Arthur move on again easily. I just kind of wanted to show off Arthur's possessive side, and his frustration with not being able to keep Merlin entirely to himself the way he wants to.


End file.
